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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Texas County, Arkansas Board of Directors Rescheduled Meeting - February 18, 2026

Board of Directors & Commissions — Wednesday, February 18, 2026

BodyTexarkana, Arkansas

SessionBoard of Directors & Commissions

DateWednesday, February 18, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 31:08

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:00

Reschedule meeting of the Texas County, Arkansas Board of Directors to order just a couple of housekeeping uh keeping things.

0:06

One, if you wish to address the board tonight, there's citizens' communication cards on the ledge.

0:10

If you'll complete one of those and get it to our city clerks, you can get that to me so we would have a record of you speaking.

0:16

Uh the second thing is uh without objection.

0:20

Uh the intent was to have our presentation tonight to our state senator and state representative before citizens communication time.

0:28

I would like to move that to before uh without any objection from the board so they can get on their way back to Little Rock.

0:35

Uh then we'll move right on in to uh citizens communication time.

0:39

This time we'll have our roll call.

Speaker 2

0:41

Director Harris

Speaker 1

0:42

here.

Speaker 2

0:43

Director Holobich here.

0:45

Assistant Mayor Pruis absent director Jewell

Speaker 1

0:48

here.

Speaker 2

0:49

Director

Speaker 1

0:50

here.

Speaker 2

0:50

Director Roberts?

Speaker 1

0:51

Here.

Speaker 2

0:52

Mayor Brown.

Speaker 1

0:53

Here.

0:54

This time we'll stand for our invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance.

Speaker 3

0:59

Let us

Speaker 1

1:00

pray.

1:00

Dear God, thank you for this day and all the blessings that you've given us.

1:04

And thank you for all of us that serve in our community, and thank you for our state senator and our state representative that's present here tonight.

1:12

And be with us as we conduct the business of the city, for it's in Christ's name we pray.

1:16

Amen.

Unassigned speaker

1:18

I

Speaker 4

1:18

pleased

Unassigned speaker

1:20

the flag of the United

Speaker 4

1:21

States

Unassigned speaker

1:22

of America.

Unassigned speaker

1:26

One nation.

Speaker 1

1:31

You may be seated.

1:34

So at this time, if uh I may, I would like to recognize uh our league's general counselor and legislative director, John Wilkerson.

Speaker 5

1:46

I'm gonna ask Jack Critcher to join me.

1:48

Yes.

1:53

Well, uh folks, it's it's a genuine honor for me to be here in front of you.

1:58

Uh I'm John Wilkerson.

1:59

I am the League General Council and Legislative Director, like you mentioned, been doing the job for 20 years now, or been 20 years of the municipal league.

2:06

In the last 10 or so, I've been at the legislature helping cities and towns.

2:10

And I can tell you you are a blessed community to have a state representative and a state senator the the way you the like of the likes that you have right now.

2:18

And it's my honor to recognize them and their valiant effort on your behalf constantly at the state legislature, not just for the city of Texas Arcana, but for the state of Arkansas.

Unassigned speaker

2:27

Uh

Speaker 5

2:28

Representative Carol Dalby, I'll start with, has been a true friend of cities, towns, Texas Arcana, the state, uh tireless advocate for good and and right.

2:39

Uh as a chair of the Judiciary Committee, I've seen her work and it's just impeccable.

2:43

One of the things I'm most proud to to say and to look back on and be proud of this moment is working with her on district court legislation, which was a monumental effort to say the least.

2:53

Yet she never wavered and she stuck with us.

2:56

She told us the truth.

2:57

Sometimes they were hard, but she told us the truths, and we worked with with her incredibly, incredibly well.

3:02

She is again an advocate for you, and she cares about this city deeply.

3:06

You can feel it in everything that she does.

3:08

So on behalf of the municipal league, and if you may, if if I may, on behalf of the city of Texas Arkana, I'd like to uh acknowledge Representative Carol Dalby with a distinguished legislator award in honor of her who has demonstrated exemplary service that benefited the cities and towns of Arkansas, especially Texas Arcana, Arkansas, during the 95th General Assembly.

3:27

Representative Dalby, thank you so

Unassigned speaker

3:29

much.

Unassigned speaker

3:45

One

Speaker 5

3:45

per

Unassigned speaker

3:45

minute.

Unassigned speaker

3:46

Okay.

Unassigned speaker

3:47

One, two.

Speaker 6

3:50

Thank you.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Procedural█████████████████████████████29%

Affordable Housing███████████████████████23%

Public Engagement██████████████████18%

Transportation Safety███████████11%

Public Safety█████████9%

Noise Ordinance█████████9%

Food Truck Regulation█1%

Summary of Proceedings

Texas County, Arkansas Board of Directors Rescheduled Meeting - February 18, 2026

The Texas County, Arkansas Board of Directors held a rescheduled meeting on February 18, 2026, at 6:00 PM. The meeting included a presentation of distinguished legislator awards to State Representative Carol Dalby and State Senator Hickey, followed by citizen communication, consent agenda approvals, public hearings on demolitions and overgrown lots, and a lease agreement with Amtrak. Several board members voiced concerns about the distribution of enforcement actions and city maintenance standards.

Consent Calendar

Approved the minutes of the February 2, 2026 rescheduled meeting.
Adopted a resolution accepting the 2025 Public Facilities Board annual report.
Adopted a resolution authorizing the city manager to enter a construction contract with France's Excavating for the Country Club Road drainage rehabilitation project.
Adopted a resolution authorizing the city manager to award an engineering contract to A.L. Frank's Engineering for the design of the County Avenue detention basin and Bobby Ferguson Pond outfall structure improvements.

Public Comments & Testimony

A citizen reminded the board of the upcoming container workshop requested by Director Harris, scheduled for Thursday, February 26, at 6:00 PM.
During public hearings on demolitions and overgrown lots, a board member (identified as Director Harris in board commentary) raised questions about the prioritization and geographic distribution of enforcement, but no other citizens offered testimony.

Discussion Items

Presentation of Distinguished Legislator Awards: John Wilkerson, League General Counsel and Legislative Director, presented awards to Representative Carol Dalby and Senator Hickey for their exemplary service to cities and towns during the 95th General Assembly. Board members praised both for their accessibility and advocacy.
Item 6 – Demolition of Seven Substandard Structures: Public Works Director Roger Douglas opened a public hearing. Director Harris questioned the city's standard for choosing which structures to demolish, suggesting that some houses could be rehabilitated and that the city should pursue a housing study. He cited examples of houses that had partially collapsed but were not prioritized. He also noted that 80% of condemned houses in recent years were in Ward 2. After discussion, the board voted to adopt the resolution certifying the lien amounts for the seven properties.
Item 7 – Maintenance of Overgrown Lots (47 Lots): Director Harris noted that 35 of the 47 lots were in Ward 2 and asked about the disparity. Public Works Director Douglas explained that lots are prioritized based on complaints and that citations often delay cleanup. Harris also questioned why the city does not maintain its own property (e.g., alleys) within the same seven-day timeline required of residents. Douglas replied that additional staff would be needed. The board adopted the resolution placing liens on the 47 lots.
Item 8 – Amtrak Lease Agreement: Tyler presented a proposal to lease a small strip (approximately 1,080 square feet, 0.02 acres) of the municipal parking lot at 219 Front Street to Amtrak for a passenger access path. The lease is for an initial term of five years commencing July 1, 2025, with one optional five-year extension, at an annual fee of $1. Amtrak will install an opaque fence and landscaping. A board member asked about liability; the city attorney confirmed indemnification language was included. The board adopted the resolution authorizing the city manager to execute the lease.

Key Outcomes

The consent agenda was adopted unanimously.
Resolution certifying demolition liens for seven substandard structures passed (all directors voted yes).
Resolution certifying weed liens on 47 overgrown lots passed (all directors voted yes).
Resolution authorizing the Amtrak lease agreement passed (all directors voted yes).
Director Harris announced plans to hold three community meetings in Ward 2 during April to discuss housing issues.
The board agreed to schedule a workshop on revising the food truck ordinance, to be held in March (date to be determined by email).

Meeting Transcript

Reschedule meeting of the Texas County, Arkansas Board of Directors to order just a couple of housekeeping uh keeping things. One, if you wish to address the board tonight, there's citizens' communication cards on the ledge. If you'll complete one of those and get it to our city clerks, you can get that to me so we would have a record of you speaking. Uh the second thing is uh without objection. Uh the intent was to have our presentation tonight to our state senator and state representative before citizens communication time. I would like to move that to before uh without any objection from the board so they can get on their way back to Little Rock. Uh then we'll move right on in to uh citizens communication time. This time we'll have our roll call. Director Harris here. Director Holobich here. Assistant Mayor Pruis absent director Jewell here. Director here. Director Roberts? Here. Mayor Brown. Here. This time we'll stand for our invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance. Let us pray. Dear God, thank you for this day and all the blessings that you've given us. And thank you for all of us that serve in our community, and thank you for our state senator and our state representative that's present here tonight. And be with us as we conduct the business of the city, for it's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. I pleased the flag of the United States of America. One nation. You may be seated. So at this time, if uh I may, I would like to recognize uh our league's general counselor and legislative director, John Wilkerson. I'm gonna ask Jack Critcher to join me. Yes. Well, uh folks, it's it's a genuine honor for me to be here in front of you. Uh I'm John Wilkerson. I am the League General Council and Legislative Director, like you mentioned, been doing the job for 20 years now, or been 20 years of the municipal league. In the last 10 or so, I've been at the legislature helping cities and towns. And I can tell you you are a blessed community to have a state representative and a state senator the the way you the like of the likes that you have right now. And it's my honor to recognize them and their valiant effort on your behalf constantly at the state legislature, not just for the city of Texas Arcana, but for the state of Arkansas. Uh Representative Carol Dalby, I'll start with, has been a true friend of cities, towns, Texas Arcana, the state, uh tireless advocate for good and and right. Uh as a chair of the Judiciary Committee, I've seen her work and it's just impeccable. One of the things I'm most proud to to say and to look back on and be proud of this moment is working with her on district court legislation, which was a monumental effort to say the least. Yet she never wavered and she stuck with us. She told us the truth. Sometimes they were hard, but she told us the truths, and we worked with with her incredibly, incredibly well. She is again an advocate for you, and she cares about this city deeply.

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